Ye Olde Rumor Mill starts cranking.

I’ve received several e-mails about Joe Schad’s announcement today on Twitter regarding Martinez being gone, gone, gone.  I’m not sure it’s worth buying that.  As Jeff Schultz notes, CWM is on the road recruiting right now.  That would be kind of awkward if he were no longer a member of the staff, wouldn’t it?

On the other hand, it sounds very much as if the Logan-Gray-to-wide-receiver rumor has legs.

The Bulldogs were not initially planning on offering a quarterback in this class. They currently have three with eligibility next season — rising junior Logan Gray and redshirted freshmen Zach Mettenberger and Aaron Murray. But Mason was told Georgia is considering moving Gray to wide receiver next year.

“That would leave them with only two quarterbacks,” Mason said. “Third string as a freshman is pretty good. You’re an injury away from being the backup.”

If you’re telling recruits that, it’s a likely move.

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Gary Patterson thinks the journey is as important as the destination.

You might think TCU’s Gary Patterson would be in favor of a playoff.   But he’s not, for a very interesting reason.

“Is it easier to win one game for a championship? Or to have to win four?” Patterson asked. “If you have a playoff, you practice and get on a plane and play. And if you lose, it’s over. If you go to a bowl game, you’re there seven days and the kids can enjoy a place and get rewarded.”

A multi-game football playoff format favors the deeper team.  Generally speaking, that’s not going to be a mid-major.  From Patterson’s standpoint, a one-shot win, like Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl upset, is a more likely way for a mid-major to win a post season title.

For Patterson, it’s more important to get the same regular season recognition and respect that the big boys do.

“Ninety percent of the teams [in the BCS] don’t have an opportunity to win a national championship,” Patterson said. “It’s the same 10 teams. We’ve now gone to a BCS over 80 percent of the Big 12, 80 percent of the SEC, 80 percent of the Big 10. We’ve achieved something that all those other teams talk about because they are part of a conference that can get there. We’ve now jumped over a hurdle by going to a BCS game.”

Dawg thoughts: where are we at today?

I say this somewhat reluctantly, but unless Paul Johnson comes up with some more comedy gold in response to last Saturday’s game (hey, it could happen), it’s time to move on here at GTP.  Time marches on, and all that.

Anyway, a couple of thoughts on the state of the program and Dawgnation that struck me this morning:

1. The bowl game scenario. More and more, it’s looking like Shreveport.  My feelings on that can be summed up as c’est la vie.  I think Mark Richt was right when he expressed the sentiment prior to the Tech game that he’d be grateful for any bowl that would have Georgia as a participant.  The goal of every bowl is to put the maximum number of asses in the seats, period.  And right now, fairly or not, our fan base is perceived as being less enthused about its program than, say, Auburn’s or Tennessee’s.  The lesson for next time is simple:  Dawgs, don’t blow a fourteen-point halftime lead at home against Kentucky.
2. Mark Richt and FSU. Is it just me, or do you find the sound of crickets here just a little strange?  I mean, for years we Georgia fans heard from opposing fans that as soon as Diddy Bowden hit the road, Mark Richt would take himself back to Tallahassee faster than greased lightning – never mind Richt’s protestations and the huge buyout Georgia negotiated with him.  And now the day is here with no mention of the possibility.  (If anything, there are probably more people now within the Dawgnation than without who would support that happening.)

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UPDATE: Don’t miss David Hale’s look forward.

Wednesday morning buffet

It’s been a few days since I’ve refilled the chafing dishes, but here’s some new stuff to try:

• Sure, Carlos Dunlap’s been suspended for the SECCG, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do a little Photoshopping to honor the occasion.
• A Miami commit got a “hard time” from some of the Gator Girls.  It’s on now, bitches!  Or at least it will be in 2013.
• Gary Patterson gets a well-earned contract extension from TCU.  (No word on Dick Bumpas, though.)
• Gary Danielson thinks the SEC may be getting too good for its own good.
• Michael Elkon posts a nice Clay Travis takedown.
• The Zooker may be on to something with this.  Of course, it would have helped if Illinois had actually won the game.
• I’m a sucker for the anonymous-coach-takes-pot-shots-at-other-teams school of analysis (and didn’t it seem for years as if every one of those for the SEC came from Tuberville’s mouth?).  Tom Dienhart treats us to a good example of that regarding Alabama, Florida and Texas.

Kiffin watch: stepping up his game.

This made me laugh out loud.

In a radio interview Tuesday, Kiffin was asked for his take on Saturday’s much-ballyhooed SEC championship game between the unbeaten Gators and Tide.

“Florida has better players; Alabama has better coaches,” Kiffin told the Sports Animal.

No, not that.  Junior’s just being Junior there.  This –

… His critique is a great indicator of how he has matured as a first-year college head coach. Almost a year ago, he jokingly referred to Meyer as a cheater before a crowd of UT boosters. He was promptly reprimanded by the SEC office.

Months later, Kiffin has refined his game to the extent that he can take shots at coaches without being reprimanded, much less fined.

Now there’s a sign of great coaching.

The genius of lowered expectations

In light of an impending contract extension for Steve Spurrier, it’s worth noting the lofty goal the OBC has set for himself (h/t Team Speed Kills).

“And if I’m going to be the all-time winning coach here – which I said that was my goal when I was hired – I’ve got to average about eight wins a year instead of seven. We hope to get up to that eight to 10 (wins) range soon.”

Spurrier is 35-27 in five seasons at USC and has had the Gamecocks bowl-eligible every year. Enright is No. 1 on USC’s victories list with 64.

It’s not exactly “win one for the Gipper” territory, is it?

Meanwhile, Mr. Westerdawg may have come up with the cruelest measure of Spurrier’s legacy conceivable:  the Ray Goff yardstick.

Spurrier through his first five seasons in Columbia:

35-27 overall
18-22 in the SEC
10 win seasons 0
9+ win seasons 0
1-2 Bowl Record
0 Top 25 Finishes

Goff through his first five seasons in Athens:

34-22 overall
18-19 in the SEC*
10 win seasons 1
9+ win seasons 2
2-1 Bowl Record
2 Top 25 Finishes

*If you include the ’89 UGA vs. SC game and ‘the 91 Arkansas match-up in the Independence Bowl as SEC games, Ray was 19-20 against current SEC Members…which is a still better.

Ray was mocked mercilessly by Spurrier for his mediocrity. I’d love to see how the ’94 version of Steve Spurrier would react to seeing how pedestrian the ’09 version of himself looks.

Make sure you catch the comments to Paul’s post.  The defense of Spurrier’s record – namely, that more was expected from Goff in Athens than is of Spurrier in Columbia – is priceless.  And sad.

Get ’em while they’re young, Jackets.

This AJ-C piece on how Georgia Tech’s loss to the Dawgs has affected some of Tech’s current commitments warms the cockles of my withered middle-aged heart.

Denzel McCoy has already learned how to work the excuse game.

“…There were some penalties that weren’t called, too. That had an effect also.”

SEC refs, baby!  They’ll cheat you every time, son.

Paul Johnson’s “Georgia hasn’t done anything since 1980” message doesn’t seem to be resonating with his troops.

“I talked to a couple of them I know,” McCoy said. “But you could just tell from their expressions they were upset. It was a hard loss, especially for the seniors because they’re not going to get a chance to play Georgia again. A lot of guys are down about it.”

Said Bostic: “Nobody was in the mood to talk. You could see it on everybody’s faces. Everybody was down and out.”

Get used to it, fellas.  This is Georgia Tech football you’re talking about, after all.